Electric liquid vaporizers (often referred to as "liquid electrics") are known. Generally, such electric liquid vaporizers comprise a housing unit configured to receive a liquid container or bottle portion. In such systems, typically the bottle portion includes some type of a wick or wick system which permits the liquid, which is ultimately to be vaporized, to be absorbed therein through capillary action. The housing unit of such a system generally contains a heating mechanism, typically electrically activated. The bottle portion which generally contains the liquid for vaporization, is usually configured for attachment to the housing such that the wick is suitably positioned proximate the heating mechanism so that the liquid will be vaporized. Various systems of the general configuration are known. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,053 issued Jul. 8, 1997 to Schroeder et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,394 issued Aug. 6, 1991 to Hasegawa et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,546 issued Mar. 1, 1994 to Hasegawa et al.
The system disclosed in the '394 and '546 comprises a chemical solution bottle removably fitted into a socket disposed under a heater. The bottle is threaded to fit within the socket in a screw-like manner. In contradistinction, in the system disclosed in the '053 patent a container of volatilizable liquid material is attached to a housing through the use of container attaching means, which means serve to hold the container and wick in place within the housing. The attachment means may include bayonet attachments undercut with matching projections and the like. Other systems which are known include projections contained on the solution bottle for "snap-fit" attachment into the housing. See, for example, U.S. Design Pat. No. 393,063 issued Mar. 31, 1998 to Wefler and U.S. Design Pat. No. 386,974 issued Dec. 2, 1997 to Wefler.
Thus, various methods for connecting bottle portions to housing units have been developed and are known. Typically, such methods comprise simple snap-type mechanisms or screw-thread designs. With such systems, particularly when used in a wick containing vaporizer, the wick may be damaged by being crushed or bent by careless interconnection, or be overheated by contact with the heating element during operation, due to instability and improper positioning of the wick relative to the heating element. This same instability and improper positioning may cause uneven heating of the wick, resulting in diminished evaporative performance and consumer frustration.
Therefore, there exists a need for a vaporizer which addresses these disadvantages.